This Is War
by GreenQueenLover03
Summary: Not the best summary - AU version of FTL - Regina brings something from Cora's past back to her when she is five, from then on it's war between Cora - who will stop at nothing for the affections of her daughter, against the attentions of the girl who reminds her of all she is trying to forget - again sorry for the summary but the story is better - over 18 only


**New story, been mulling in my head for a while and so thought I would get it down before it left again - little different than cannon so it's Au but I think it'll be just as good.**

**Of course, it will be a Regina/Zelena so will be adults only, unless your devil may care than of course it's your own risk.**

**I don't own these lovely people nor OUAT... would have totally gotten rid of Emma if that was the case. God she annoys me. anyway happy reading.**

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><p>In the middle of the enchanted land, South of the Sherwood Forest, and close to firefly hill, lay a house – it was a fairly modest house being larger than the average building lived in by everyday people who dwelt within the realm but not as large as the castle's and ones lived in by nobles.<p>

Nor was it as outlandish as the other houses though a royal certainly did live there. It was a simple four bedroom house, complete with separate rooms – kitchen, lounge area and the rooms in which they slept in and any of guests. It also housed stables around the back for the occupants of the house loved and kept horses some of the best within the land and everyone seemed to know it.

Who lived in a house that accommodated horses and was simple in its existence? Prince Henry and his children did – the princess Regina, duchess of the Northern Kingdom and next in line after her Father to take the throne, and the Lady Zelena, sister of Regina.

But neither of them cared for titles which was why they lived so modestly near the forest. Henry had never cared for the royal lineage that he came from and from the way Regina chose to spend her time within the trees – riding her horses she didn't either. Zelena was indifferent she enjoyed the dresses that came from being part of a royal family but didn't care for the balls nor people who attended them.

Henry used to have a wife the Lady Cora, a woman whom he had married some years back when times had been simpler and she was merely a miller's daughter, she had been common but he had grown to love her dearly. She already had a child, a little girl whom she had given away she never did tell him why, and would snap when he made inquiries about her to which he learnt quickly not to do again.

Over time she had gone from the sweet, wonderful and sexy woman into a snarky, hateful, condescending and angry one. Especially having a terrible vendetta against Leopold's wife, Eva to what end he had no clue but she had it – one that never let up even with her death years later.

Another thing that made her the cruel and heartless woman she had been – the magic, he hadn't a clue when he married her but a few weeks later he had seen first-hand his wife using it when she had struck a server who had ruined one of her best dresses. She had thrown her to the floor with a swing of her hand and scarring the blonde's cheek, forever marring her unblemished skin.

It went on and on with Cora terrorizing most of the help into total submission or fleeing, either way some of them never came back. He had tried to stop it, put his foot down – be the strong man his father had taught him to be.

The next victim on her list was when she turned her anger and magic on him.

He never quite was the same after that. He became recluse, meek and controlled the more she used her magic the more she took hold further in what was supposed to be an equal partnership. He sometimes lay awake at night wondering where the woman he had first met had gone, and often at times wished he had never laid eyes on her at all.

The only good thing came in the form of his daughter. When she announced she was with child, his eyes – dull and compliant lit up with excitement and a shine that had long been extinguished at the thought of having a child. She scoffed at the reaction before walking off leaving him alone. But he didn't care, he was having a child.

A baby of his own… of course it would be one half of Cora but still, it was also him… he smiled brightly already starting to wonder what it would be – most royal families always craved boys to carry on the line to ensure succession but it was another reason he wasn't like the rest of his family, for he couldn't care less what the child would be as long as it would be healthy.

He dreamt of a little boy with whom he could teach to hunt, ride and wield a sword and bow. If it were a girl then he would be content to play whatever she wished, Cora sneered at his hopes and would often mock him for being nothing like the prince he was born to be, but he didn't care – all he wanted was his child.

Regina.

He stared down at the wriggling bundle that lay in the cot with wide eyes that shone with adoration. Cora had gone to sleep, not really caring that the child she had needed her, she was a little disappointed she had borne a girl, which he said didn't matter again earning another jeer.

He stayed in the room just his daughter until the urge became too strong and he bent down gently scooping her squirming body in his arms cradling her to his chest and looking down in awe as she twisted and pulled faces before finally looking up to meet his eyes. He smiled wide at the girl who had gotten his eyes… his skin complexion and his hair, as he reached out and plucked a finger holding it tightly within her own hands.

For the first time in years he cried, not tears of misery and despair like he had done countless other times throughout his marriage. But these were tears of joy as he kept his child close to his heart as she snuffled and whimpered.

"I already love you with all my heart." He bent his head and kissed her one tenderly.

He knew he wouldn't be able to protect her as a father should from the woman who slept in the bed next to them. But he vowed to do whatever it took to make sure her life was happy with whatever she wanted.

Cora barely interacted with her daughter. She would forever be handing her off to minder before wandering off to her secret study do to who knew what which always made him sad but nevertheless would relish the time he got with his child as they spent the day enjoying the outdoors.

The peace and his own happiness lasted a mere three weeks before it came crashing down around him.

Regina had performed her first bout of magic; she was not even five weeks old.

As soon as she had Cora's waning interest renewed with a fiery vengeance that both concerned and frightened him.

He was right to be frightened. But not for him for the little girl who innocently had doomed her own life for when she turned one and a half, Cora would begin her 'lessons'

Every day after he would watch her go off with the older woman into her study and come out hours later – drained, pale, tired, and always with tear stains down her olive cheeks. She was relentless, Cora would push the tiny child harder, push her to what limits she could before grudgingly stopping before she passed out – not that it had stopped her before, but now she learnt to be more careful.

By the time she was three Regina could tear down a fully built house which she did – all for Mummy's love which was as false as the words of praise she had given her once the man who had wronged her wept as he lost everything right in front of him.

It sickened him to watch her use their child like that and once when Regina was out with the nanny he had done something he never before had done in all their years together,

He had shouted at her.

He raged and yelled and threatened to take Regina away. Back to the castle where he knew that Cora wasn't welcome – she never had been and so thought it the safest place for the little girl, but it wasn't enough. Cora had, once he finished – laughed openly at him. She had mocked him for trying to be a man when it was far too late for him to be anything of the sort.

She was in charge, he knew it, she knew it… Everyone knew it and she had shown it in the form of his nearly crushed windpipe when she had directed her ire on him which had been silently brewing the moment he raised his voice.

His tears of misery came back when he saw the hand mark on his beloved daughters face. He knew it wasn't the first time Cora had harmed their child but it was the first he had seen she was often careful and covering up any that lasted longer than a few hours. Slowly he watched the one bright and happy child slowly recede into herself, become sullen and angry sometimes snapping at him.

He knew she had every right to for he had broken his promise to her as baby to try to make her life as happy as possible. He had failed and so the next day, ignored his wife's warnings and took her for her very first horse ride.

She had loved every second and soon after he had brought her, her very first horse much to Cora's displeasure but what really could she do about a pet and so allowed it – the smile he was graced with made his heavy heart lift that little bit and he imagined that it had redeemed him in some way if only for a while.

It all went to hell when Regina was five.

By that age she was powerful. She had already shown she could destroy a person's house when encouraged. She could choke a person when raged and under Mummy's guidance and approval, and create cyclones of both wind and fire that could rip a small village apart. He wasn't ashamed to admit it but he was scared of his daughter, he was scared of the raw power she possessed and angry at what Cora had turned her into.

But all of that paled in comparison to what she had gone and done when out riding with Daddy one day. Cora was out; she had gone to speak to someone… Some person named Rumpelstiltskin – weird name he thought but had taken the chance to go riding, a rarity ever since the older woman was forever training her in the ways of magic.

They had reached an open clearing when Regina jumped from Riconante and took off running ignoring his calls for to come back urging his horse on he trotted on following the trail until coming out into a field and looked around until finally spotting her in the middle of the field. He watched wondering what she was doing as she seemed to be staring at the sky, looking for something.

It was a clear day – the sky bright and the sun shining and heating the ground nothing out of the ordinary but for Regina it was all she needed as she grinned and took out a piece of chalk from her pocket as she knelt on the ground and began to draw something into a scorched part of grass she had gotten rid of in order to enact the plan.

He didn't seem to see a problem and so let her carry on as she fiddled with the intricate pattern coloring in certain parts before throwing the chalk away and pulling something from the inside of her jacket. Pulling apart the small package she moved what she had brought with her into the right places – it was imperative she get them right or all would be lost.

She had been slowly gathering what she needed for this to work. On her trips out she had made sure to ask what types of birds were which as her Daddy gladly told her and without him seeing, she had captured them and took what she needed.

Brain from a hawk – for its smarts and cunning,

A vial of courage - drawn directly from a falcon,

The heart of a swan – the purest bird she knew,

She placed them in a particular order in accordance to the sun as it blazed above her before standing and taking out the words she had written down – strange about that as she had never seen the book before. Mother never had it and she hadn't seen for it just appeared one day, confusing but nevertheless it had what she needed and now she was about to make it all real.

Henry was just giving the horses some water when they bolted suddenly as what sounded like lightning striking had him dropping everything in his hands and spinning to where Regina was as he gasped as he saw what could only be called as a small electrical storm had come from nowhere and was currently surrounding the small girl in the field, no doubt the one who had created it as he tried to call for her.

His voice was drowned out by the sounds of the raging fire as one by one – each of the ingredients were sent up in smoke as the she held out her hand and slowly stirred it as they came together, forming a slow circle which grew and spun faster and faster until eventually, the combination of the fire - the hitting lightning and the needed parts finally created what she had hoped.

She jumped back as the ground soon started to shake. Henry gasped as the tremors went through the earth and he grew more worried for what she was doing. This was far beyond anything she had ever done before and as much as he hated it, he wished Cora were here to at least stop her for she was the only one who could as soon a bright glow had encompassed the entire area.

The air-filled with thick energy even a non-magical person like he could feel as it came heavy and he found it hard to breathe. Struggling he tried to see through the light to his daughter, still fearing for her and not for him until finally he passed out unable to keeping standing and find energy to breath.

The last thing he saw before it went black was the sparks of green and purple as they came together through the white light.

A patting on his face had him squinting his eyes before slowly opening them. He closed them just as quick with a hiss of pain to the sound of giggling before rolling on to his side. Slowly pushing himself up, he waited until he was at least in an upright position before attempting to open his eyes again. When he finally could open them what he saw was something he never thought possible.

Regina was kneeling down next to him smiling as she roused him from his unconscious state. He was glad she wasn't hurt and was about to scold at her for deliberately putting herself in danger with what she had done. He then was about to ask what it was she had done before he finally noticed the other person standing next to Regina.

It was another little girl – she looked a bit older than Regina did, maybe two or three – she had long, curly light blonde/red hair and deep ice blue eyes that seemed to pierce through him even with the huge smile she was giving him as he stared at her curiously.

"Regina sweetie, whose this"

The kneeling girl giggled again and hauled herself to her feet before moving closer to the other girl who turned and was looking at her warmly. "This is Zelena,"

He stared at the two with narrowed, confused eyes. He had heard the name before and tried to place her… he thought back to when he was newly married and he had asked Cora a question that she had taken offence to, what was it… it was there, it was.

He gasped in realization as his snapped back up to the pair. He stared wide-eyed at the other child who did look like Cora when she was younger, in fact both children looked like their Mother in such different ways but so similar at the same time.

"She's my sister, Daddy."

He simply nodded not knowing what to say. It had come back to him now and with it the rest of the story. He had been horrified by what he had read on finding an old journal on passing, he didn't know what it was until he opened and found it to be a diary in his wife's writing it was from before they were married and curiosity made him open the small book.

He had wished he hadn't by the time he had reached the fourth page.

She had abandoned a child, she had abandoned _her_ child. Just left the poor girl in the woods to the elements and to whatever else, his stomach dropped and his heart clenched painfully as he read on, he finally understood the reason behind her grudge with Eva, and it disgusted him to think that an innocent child had suffered all because of her insane need to get back at an act of pettiness.

He shoved the book away and fled the room. When she came back he didn't say a word to her all night too caught up by her horrific past, if she noticed she never said a word.

But now he was sitting in front of the very child she had tossed aside. The child his daughter had brought from another realm it had seemed if what he now believed to have been a portal, he wasn't adverse in the ways of magic but now and then he would ask what things did when Cora wasn't willing to tell him.

_Oh, Cora_

When she discovered what Regina had done he had no idea what she would do. He looked back to both his daughter and his… well he supposed step one and gave them weak smiles both wondering and fearing what will happen next.

As he predicted Cora wasn't happy. When the older woman returned home she was uncharacteristically surprised to see another child in the house. At first she thought her a friend of Regina's that itself was something to frown at as she never liked her having friends from the villages… Such commoners, but as she looked at the girl closer, really looked at her, she realized that this wasn't just a child from the town.

Zelena had turned around to look at the woman who had given birth to her in the eye for the second time in her life. She lifted her gaze to meets hers and Cora gasped out loud as she recognized the icy eyes as she remembered seeing them once before on two different people.

The rat bastard who had tricked her into sleeping with him

The child that came from that foolish deceit,

The child she was now standing across from.

She backed away as soon as Zelena looked at her; she hit the wall her breath hitched as she stared at her. None of them spoke for a few minutes as they took in each other's presence before sounds of footsteps had Cora looking to see Regina come running into the room.

"Zelena! You have to come see my room – you can stay with me." She had no idea that Mother had returned as Cora eyes watched her in shock before it was quickly replaced with anger at realizing that the only other person who had the ability to perform such a feat was the girl in front of her.

Normally she would have been proud at such magic coming from her and at a young age. But all she could see was the man who had fooled her, the man who had told her he wanted nothing to do with her when she told him she was having his child, the man who had sent her away.

Regina had done this. How she had known about the other girl she didn't know but she would.

But first she needed to be taught a lesson.

"REGINA!"

Said girl slipped and yelped at the angry sound and turned her head to see the rage in her Mothers eyes. She skidded to a stop for fear of getting to close and end up in her clutches as she stared wide eyes and slightly fearful as she faced her.

"Mother,"

"What the hell have you done!" The vicious snarling had the younger girl backing away slowly, knowing this wasn't going to end well as she could feel the older woman's magic crackling.

"DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT RUNNING!" Cora finally had found her feet and now stood tall, her eyes still trained on the girl responsible Regina had never seen her this mad before, not even when she accidentally landed in the rose-bush and squashed them all flat – that was nothing compared to this and she was two seconds away from turning tail and fleeing.

Cora was almost upon her when she found herself suddenly being flung back as a cracking glow of green light split the air between the two, it forced the pair backwards as Cora was sent smacking into the wall and down to the floor. She heaved herself into a sitting position, her hair mussed and falling from its neat bun as she looked up with glazed eyes to see Zelena standing next to Regina.

The red-haired girl had seen the look of fury in her eyes as she spied Regina – the one who had brought her to this world. She had seen the way Cora had looked at her with loathing in her eyes, she wasn't stupid she knew that the older woman didn't want her here… She also had never given her up for a better life.

She was far to selfish for that.

But it wasn't why Zelena had come. Sure she had wanted to meet the woman who was her biological Mother, but more importantly she had come for her sister. She had first learnt of Regina when she was five.

She was jealous at first – why should she get to stay with the woman who was both their Mothers, why was she the lucky one. She had kept that until finally they had the means of contacting each other.

Regina had been shocked at first on hearing she had a sister, Mother had never at all mentioned her and it made her sad. Zelena was all for scorning her – it was the reason she wanted so much to talk to her but as soon as they were able Regina had immediately said she would try her best to bring her back.

That shocked the eight year old. Hearing such determination from a five-year old whom she was angry at for merely existing but who had no clue of that hate but still wanted her around… she had never had that before but on seeing the already look of adoration and love it made all that she was feeling – the hate, the anger and the envy… it melted away and she found herself wanting that to.

So for months they each worked, never giving up – both with the childlike determination to succeed until at least they had found a way to make it possible. Both where excited to be so close to each other.

She had never felt so wanted the moment they could finally be together. Regina had basically tugged her through the portal yanking her from the god forsaken hell that was OZ as she tumbled through and landed on the other girl, Regina started laughing as soon as it closed leaving the two in the middle of the scorched field as she looked at her sister for the first time in her life without the use of a mirror.

She seemed far more beautiful in the flesh as she let her gaze roam her appearance. Her hair was shining in the light as it went from blonde to red, weaving in and out of the light's rays, her eyes were the perfect shade of blue that seemed to frame her face and soon she found herself pulling a stunned Zelena into a tight hug, vowing never to let her go.

Now it was Zelena who had saved her from their Mothers wrath. She had used her magic – which was equally as strong to stop her from causing pain which no doubt she would have. She wrapped her arm around the younger girl's waist and tugged her back to her body, as she half stepped in front of her glaring hard at the fallen woman.

Cora was shocked for the second time in as many few minutes as she looked at the icy glare the other girl was giving her. She could feel the magic pouring from her body. It was so strong, she had felt it on Regina to and wondered if like the raven haired girl – could she use magic at an early age.

The answer must have been yes as she was feeling dizzy still but staggered to her feet. She looked at them both silently, her eyes falling to the way Zelena was positioned in front of her sister – the arm that was around her waist, curling as if to protect her from her ire. She saw the hardness in her eyes mixed in with the love of the family she could have had but never did.

She already loved her sister,

Her lip twisted a little into a placating semi snarl, conceding to the two children they had won this round. For now she would go lick her wounds.

"Very well children." She said with a small bow of her head, her eyes flickered to Zelena as she spoke the next words to her, "It's good to have you home, my _daughter_"

Zelena didn't reply. She could hear the disdain dripping but hidden behind honeyed words. She wasn't fooled Cora knew she was only here for Regina, nothing else. As she returned the slight welcoming gesture with a feral smile of her own just out of sight from the girl pressed to her chest.

"Thank you, _Mother"_

With that Cora turned and swept from the room leaving them alone in silence as Regina soon turned and flung herself into her arms, she pressed her body tighter to hers and held on for dear life.

"Thank you."

Zelena heard the whisper and looked down at the thick head of obsidian hair as she gently lifted her arms to wrap around her body as she returned the hug, she only ever had a few contacts of love in her short life but that right there – in that strange house in the land she had only ever been in as a baby, did she feel the most love as she fiercely clung to Regina.

"I would do anything for you." And she meant it, for now she had her, she would never let Regina go, and if Cora for one moment thought she would win this fight, she had no idea who she was going against.

Cora may have had no heart and therefore no distractions. But she had been called wicked more than once and wicked would _always win._

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><p><strong><em>Hope everyone liked, second half up soon.<em>**


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